Wall-anchor.



entre ysa IRA is. MALABY, or rHrLADnLPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoR iroNorman MELLOR, or PHILADELPHIA, rENNsYLvANIA.

WALnANoI-Ion.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 27, E912. Serial No. 693,546.

To all @0.7mm t may concern .Be it known that I, lna. MALABY, a citizenof the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain Improvements in 1Wall-Anchors, of which the followingis a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel form of holding deviceparticularly adapted for use in hollow or plaster walls as well as insolid brick or 'stone walls, which shall be convenient to apply andinexpensive to manufacture. ,l

I further desiretQ-provide 'an expansible holding device which maybeapplied to a hollow or plaster wall without requiring to be hammered inorder that itnnay assume its holding form; the invention also conteurplating such construction ofthe holding del vice as will permit ofitsibeing inserted in a previously madeY hole and thereafter expandedeither by the rotation or by the pullingoutward of a screw after thishas been properly entered in the device.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter setforth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of an expansible holding deviceconstructed according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the blankfrom which is made the device shown in F ig. l gllig. 3 is a sideelevation, partly in section, illustrating the construction and use ofthe apparatus preferably employed for expanding the holding device shownin Fig. l; Fig. 4l is an enlarged fragmentary side elevationillustrating the detail construction of one end of the device shown inFig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation illustrating aslightly modiliedformv of my invention; Fig. 6 is a vertical sect-ionshowing the position assumed by my holding device when it is applied toa structure in which it iseompletely embedded, Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview showing the form assumed by the innei` or rear end of my holdingdevice, when it has been expanded into its holding position, and Fig. 8is anelevation ofthe handle.

ln constructing my improved devicewhich may be referred to as a wallanchor, l form a 4blank of the` construction shown in Fig. 2 by ,the useof suitable dies and the necessary as ociated machinery. This blankusually has' the form of a flat elongated body of relatively thin sheetmetal having a number of elongated, longitudinally extending open ingsor recesses 2, between which are narrow lengths of metal 3. A cut 4textending from one edge of the blank is formed adjacent one end thereofand at the opposite end there is a. perforated substantially circularprojection By means of suitable machinery formlng no vpart of thepresent invention, this blank is rolled or bent into the shape of anelongated tube and the lug or projection 5 is given the form of aportion of a helical surface so as to form a nut, being bent to lieacross one end of the cylindrical body portion. The tongue 6 formed bythe cut 4 is made to project laterally from the end opposite that4having the nut 5 and when so formed the device is ready for use,although 1n some cases I may provide it with barbs 14: projecting beyondits cylindrical surface as shown in F ig. 5 and formed integral with itsbody at that end thereof ad'acent the nut :3. In applying it, for exampe to a hollow or other wall, such as indicated at lX, in Figs. 3 and 7the anchor is loosely placed in a previously formed hole so as to extendthrough said wall or other structure, and then has applied to it anelongated tool in the form of a rod or screw 7 threaded at one end.rlhis screw is pivoted toa handle 8 some distance from the end thereofand in the case illustrated, the handle is made of a suitably formedlength of stiff band or strip of metal having its extremities extendedon opposite sides of the screw to form cams 8a'. .1\ relatively largewasher 9 is mounted on the screw 7 to provide a means for temporarilyholding the outer end of the anchor in place, and the handle S, which isturned on its pivot so as to be at right angles to the screw, is thenrotated to cause said screw to engage and enter the nut 5. Thereaftersaid handle is forcibly turned on its pivot until it is substantially inthe line of the screw and this action causes the cam portions 8a tocoact with the washer and end of the anchor to collapse the structurallyweak side members 3 thereof, with the result that each of them is .bentoutwardly in more or less bowed form, for that portion of their lengthwhich projects beyond the inner surface of the wall. l'lie stra ightpulling out of the handle thereafter completely collapses or expandsthese parts into the positions shown ac3a in ligs.

l @and G.' .Under conditionsth'eylinfloo drical end portion l0 of theanchor adjacent the helical nut 5 is drawn so as to be immediatelyadjacent the rear or inner surface of the wall, and thereafter the toolmay be removed by rotatingl the handle 8 in the direction such as willfree the threads of the rod 7 from the nut 5. If desired, a screw ofsuitable length may then be inserted into the anchor and so turned as tocause its threads t0 enter the nut 5, thereby causing the projectingtongue 6 to be embedded in the outer face of the wall so as toeifectually prevent any rotation of the anchor' and giving the wholedevice a finished appearance. It is of course obvious that if desiredthe screw 1.1 may be omitted and the head formed by the projectingtongue 6 relied on to hold a picture hook or other device 12 in place.

In some cases a screwof suitable length may be inserted in the anchorafter this has been placed in the previously formed hole in the Wall,and thereafter by turning said screw in the proper direction it may becaused to engage the helically formed nut 5. The continued turning ofthe screw will then forcibly draw the outer end of the anchor toward therear or inner face of the wall, thereafter causing the laterally weakside members 3 to bow or bend as previously described, and embeddin thetongue 6 in the outer face of the wa so as to prevent rotation of thehead part of the anchor. The screw may thereafter be permitted to remainin place, it being understood that it may be permitted to project beyondthe outer surface of the wall or may hold thereto a suitably formed hookor other device as desired.

Where anchors constructed according to my invention are used in more orless solid walls of brick or stone or in other structures of suchthickness that such anchor cannot pass through the same, I drill orotherwise form a hole of suitable diameter to receive ananchor of theordinary form shown in Fig. 3. As in the second case described, Iintroduce a screw into the anchor, and then turn it so as to cause itsthreads to engage the helically formed nut or tongue at the inner end ofthe anchor. As a result of the continued turning of the screw, said nutand with it the cylindrical end portion 10 of the anchor'are drawntoward the head end thereof and although the side members 3 of theanchor bend outwardly for a-distance suiiicient to cause them to engagethe walls of the hole, the form assumed by the anchor is radicallydifferent from that previously described, being usually as shown in Fig.7 The said side members are twisted toa greater or less extent and areso distorted in form as to tightly and immovably grip the walls of thehole so thateven though the screw may be removed by turning it in adirection the reverse of that previously noted, it is practically animpossibility to remove the anchor. rlhis l latter thus forms a socketwhose nut 5 prot' vides threads for a screw which may be used i toattach or support any desired structure.

I may in any or all of the cases described so form the blank that thefinished anchor shall be provided with the integral barbs 14 projectingfrom the part 10 between the Aside members 3 with their points outsidethe cylindrical surface of the anchor body and directed toward the headthereof. These aid in retaining it in a hole in which it is inserted andwhen the side members 3 are collapsed, are forced into the walls of saidhole so as to efectually assist in preventing the withdrawal of theanchor;

As shown in Fig. 5 a number of integral nuts maybe provided as indicatedat 5, 5 and 5b, by forming the blank with the deend, and thereafterbending or forming said tongues so that they are substantially parallelto each other adjacent said end.

I claim 1. A wall anchor consisting of a single sheet metal piece in theform of a hollow elongated body having cylindrical end-portions and morethan two side portions connecting the same; with an integral nut eX-tending over one of said end portions.

2. A wall anchor consisting of a single sheet metal piece rolled up toform a hollow elongated body having end portions and more than twolaterally weak side portions; with an integral nut attached to one ofthe end portions adjacent one side thereof and bent over the same'.

3. A wall anchor consisting of a single sheet metal piece in the form ofa hollow body of elongated form having laterally weak side portions;with an integral nut consisting 0f a relatively thin helically formedpiece adjacent one of its ends.

4. A wall anchor consisting of a single sheet metal piece rolled up toform a hollow elongated body slit from endto end, said body havinglongitudinally extending openings forming more than two laterally weakside members and being provided with an integral nut adjacent one of itsends.

5. A wall anchor consisting of a single sheet metal piece in the shapeof a hollow laterally weak body of elongated form havtendingsubstantially at right angles to constitute an integral head, and at itsopposite end provided with an integral nut.

6. A wall anchor consisting of an elongated tubular body of sheetmaterial having a helically bent perforated tongue extending adjacentone of its ends.

7. A wall anchor consisting of a tubular body of sheet material having ahelically bent perforated tongue extending adjacent sired number ofperforated tongues at one ing at one end a relatively thin tongue eX-'eol I ing laterally one of its ends; said body having longitudinallyextending openings in its sides formweak side members.

S. A wal anchor consisting` oi a body of sheet material in form of aiongitndinally split elongated tube; there being openings in the sidesof said tube forming two substantially cylindrical end portionsconnected by laterally weak sido members; and an in tegral perforatedtongue projecting across one of the ends of said body.

9. A wall anchor consisting of a body of sheet material in forni of alongitudinally split elongated tube; there being openings in the sidesof said tube forming two substantially .cylindrical end portionsconnected by laterally weak members; and an integral perforated tongueprojecting across one of the ends ot said body; with an integral`laterally extending projection forming a head at the other end of saidbody. 10. A wall anchor consisting ot a single' metallic piece in theshape of a tubular laterally weak body of elongated t'orm having anintegral lateral projection at one side of one end and at the other, endprovided with amut.

l1.- A wall-anchor consisting of a single metallic piece in the shape ofa. tubular laterallyweak body of elongated forni having at one end arelatively sharp edged integral lateral projection presenting its edgein a plane substantially parallel to the line of said body, and at theopposite end provided with an integral nut.

12 A wall anchor consisting of a hollow elongated body provided withlongitudinally extending openings, a barb or barbs integral -withthe-body and projecting from said openings beyond the sides of the body,and a nut adjacent one of the ends of the body.

13. A wall anchor consisting of a hollow elongated body provided withlongitudinally extending openings; integral barbs projecting from saidopenings at one end of the body beyond the sides thereof; and anintegral nut extending across said end or' the body.

1li. The combination with a wall anchor of means for expanding the saineconsisting ot La threaded member for engaging the anchor, with a handlehaving a cam surface and pivotally connected to Saidmember.

15. The combination with a 'wall anchor 17. The combination of a wallanchor con? sisting of a laterally weak elongated tubular body having arelatively thin integral helically bent nut at one end; with a screwmounted in said body in engagement with the nut. y

18. The combination with a wall structure having a cavity therein of anelongated tnbularibody mounted in Said cavity and formed with laterallyweak' side portions; said body having at one end an integral nut. with ascrew `extending into the body and engagin the nut; the latter being ofniaterial w iose thickness is less than the pitch of.' the threads ofsaid screw.

19. The combination with a wall struc ture having 'a hole therein of atubular clongated body having structurally weak side portions and anintegral nut mounted. in said hole; said side portions respectively 1--tending in bowed form away from the line of said body; and a screwmounted in. the body in engagement with the nut; v h a laterallyextending projection at one intl of the body embedded in said wall;strnctnre so as to prevent rotation of said body.

20. Thecombination with a wall anchor of means for expanding the sameconsisting of a threaded member for engaging the anchor; a handle havinga cam portion or portions and pivoted to said threaded member;-

and a washer mounted on the rod between the anchor and the handle.

In testimony whereof, 'il have signed my T in the presence of i355.

name to this specifica two subscribing witnc ille; MALLB

